Remember
by Ellie and Joel-The Last of Us
Summary: There was nothing worse than becoming an orphan. Never meeting his father and forgetting his mother, Keaton is taken in by a pitying clan. Yet was this a mistake? BTW: My story, do not steal, or I will find it and you will pay...


Remember~

There was nothing worse than becoming an orphan. Never meeting his father and forgetting his mother, Keaton is taken in by a pitying clan. Yet was this a mistake?

Light heliotrope colors and bluish clouds swallowed the whitish moon and the sun calmly rose at the horizon, much as the cats of Shadow Clan rose from their nests.

A large grey and white Tom with dark myrtle green eyes stared lazily into space as the morning silence faded. Soft rustling from neighbors caused a domino effect on the whole lot of them.

Keaton stood up and left for a den right next to the Warriors'. Patches of moss hung over it and the Tom had to duck to avoid getting it in his face. "Hello Snaketail." He meowed, fixing his gaze on a shivering lump of fur in the center of the den. "Go away." Snaketail muttered.

"You don't really mean that." Keaton replied. Snaketail lowered his gaze and turned his back on Keaton, all the while a bedlamite grin spreading over his face. Keaton observed the strong-smelling herbs placed around him, waiting for the name.

"You are much more than a kit now, Keaton, I'm not sure if I should…"

"I don't have that much patience now." Warned the warrior.

"Sure, sure." Snaketail twitched his whiskers. "And you'll just kill the medicine cat and leave, won't you?" He said, the words etched with sarcasm.

"I've killed many cats before." Keaton clenched his teeth.

"Well, how about a Thunder Clan cat?"

"Who?" The Tom's myrtle green eyes burned into the medicine cat's pelt.

"Oh, I don't know, Rainpaw? That lazy rat thinks he can bite my tail at the gathering and no one will notice." He said under his breath.

"I don't go after your personal enemies, Snaketail."

"How about if I give you your pay ahead of time?" Offered Snaketail, fetching something from the back of his den.

The familiar tangy scent of cat mint reached his nose. Unknown to Keaton, who from his kit hood had thought it a crazy plant that made you loose all your tangled and warped emotions, Snaketail had been taking this stuff in like crazy to provide for his "assassin".

"I-I don't know when they'll be patrolling, but please, don't led them see you. Or anything! If they ever find out-"

"Do not worry, I always come back home." Keaton padded out of the den, wolfing down the cat mint as though no extraordinary trade had taken place.

Chapter 2

The fresh, sharp scent of rain was everywhere in the forest. Rainpaw skipped with glee for being chosen for a patrol at sun-high and a chance to show his mentor Blueclaw how well he could hunt, and perhaps climb.

The gentle thud of the apprentice's paws was a beat in Keaton's mind. The increasing urge to just run up and kill him was growing, despite his controlled tactics. Rainpaw was quite unaware, just looking up, hearing the sparrows titter and chirrup and his wide blue eyes trying to capture a squirrel in motion.

This would be Keaton's first apprentice, and he wasn't even nervous. Haunches raised slightly in the little slope, his ears tilted forward in the sound of oncoming traffic, the blood, he could almost smell.

He pounced. Immediately, the apprentice let out a startled yowl. Keaton ripped at his face, hoping this would shut the bastard up, but the blood dripping down his whiskers only made him cause an earsplitting racket.

Keaton heard the paws running. How the heck was he to finish this cat off with at least five other cats seeing him?

He had no choice but to quickly snap his throat. The noise stopped abruptly, silence was brief, and Keaton heard a low-voiced Tom yelling "Where are you?" Keaton looked over his chest fur. It was bright red, and dripping with the incriminating evidence.

Of course, the apprentice had taken a good swipe at his ear too. A small notch in his ear where the Thunder Clan cat had clawed it was oozing his own liquid, making him feel mortal again.

He slowly crawled away, the effect of his fantasy wearing away with every paw step. When he got to a pond, he hastily washed off his paws and fur. The ear would be slightly tricky to explain, but at least he wouldn't reek of Rainpaw.

"How did it go?" Snaketail didn't bother to look up as Keaton came into his den. "Well. You're little bastard is gone now." Promised the Tom. "Calm down, Keaton." Snaketail meowed, a jaded look in his insipid eyes. "Yes, Snaketail." He aimed to leave for the forest again, make it look like he had actually been doing something in the morning other than murdering.

"Hey, Keats!" A bony ash colored cat called out to the murder, unaware of his recent crimes. "Hello, Blackstorm." Keaton greeted her in a warm, unctuous tone. "Want to go hunting?" Offered the she-cat, swishing her tail eagerly.

"Why not?" Keaton stretched his claws in front of him, leaning forward with his haunches upright. The she-cat took off into the forest of pines, hesitating so that he could catch up with her.

The delightful forest was occupied with the misty brown sparrows and the large fat squirrels in the green-leaf. The fresh breeze blew into his face, revealing the many treats the woods had to offer.

A mole was busy rubbing it's blind eyes under a tree. Eyes gleaming, he leapt forward and clawed it in it's stomach before it had a chance to dive in the other direction.

"Excellent catch!" Blackstorm meowed, nodding her approval. Keaton grinned, his face twitched slightly to allow a grin.

The she-cat herself had caught an agreeable amount of prey before the duo came back to ShadowClan camp. It was dawning on Keaton how little he payed attention to the she-cat these days when he felt a certain Tom's eyes bore into his pelt.

"Yes, Snaketail?" He asked wearily. "A little extra." Snaketail released Keaton's cat mint from his mouth. "Thank you." Keaton grinned. "Take it into the forest, no needing the whole clan see." Hissed the medicine cat, hurrying away before any cat could accuse him of bribes.

Keaton was indulging his gift gently in the forest, pulling off the leaves one at a time with his teeth, until a shadow fell across his paws and his myrtle green eyes met those of a vast, curly whiskered, sharp fanged Tom. "Hello there." Keaton gulped.

The feelings you get when you get caught doing something wrong or somehow potential dangerous surged all over his body. Unfortunately, cat mint can take away these feelings of guilt for Keaton.

"Why did Snaketail give you that? Are you under medication? Do you know how precious that stuff is?" Boomed the Tom. Keaton's eyes turned to slits, he bared his teeth in a snarl.

"Stay away, cat." He rasped. "What? I bet you're getting deals from that slippery cat, aren't you? Wait till the leader hears of this, Keaton!" The Tom got angrier and angrier, his words like venom.

Flashes of blood and wriggling followed soon after. Keaton's claws were filled with fire. His eyes burned, and even as he sunk his claws into the flesh, the feeling was still unsettled.

"Keaton!" Someone shrieked. Keaton let go of the dead Tom's throat, watching it bubble and flow a little. "Keaton, what are you doing?" Blackstorm yowled in surprise. But the answer presented itself.

"No one…must know." Keaton's gaze fixed on her. His happy, sick dream was invading his reality.

Chapter Three

His eyelids felt nailed shut, but he opened them. "Snaketail!" He saw the medicine cat hanging his head in morose. "What has happened, Snaketail?" Keaton meowed, shaking his head.

All that remained of his previous thoughts were smokes, clouds floating eerily in his mind, blocking his attempt to view them. "You killed Splashflight?" Snaketail murmured.

"I….I think so. But it wasn't my fault, you-"

"Do you know where Blackstorm is?" Continued Snaketail, cutting him off. "In her den…isn't she?"

"Why try to reassure yourself, Keaton. She's dead." Snaketail said dully.

"What? Why? You liar, I don't appreciate your lies, Snaketail."

"Go check for yourself." Snaketail gave him a sad glance.

Horror and angst bound his body to the spot, in the nest. "I killed her?"

"The whole clan knows now. I insisted that Blizzardstar keep you a little longer, but as you may imagine, there isn't much left for me to say. Only for you to do."

"Remember how this all started?" Continued Snaketail with a smile. "You came in this very den as a wide-eyed, squeaking kit. You found that cat mint in the back and wanted to try it. So I said you should go and kill a mouse for me and I would give it to you. And look where this cycle ends you. Killing someone who you never meant to kill." He shook his head.

Keaton's fur bristled, his whole reputation had been a wall built over and over through his moons here. And now to be knocked away, block after block.

"Do you remember your parents, Keaton?" Whispered Snaketail. "Maybe, I think only my mother."

"Do you remember who she was?"

"A rogue?" Keaton asked, slumping miserably back into the nest.

"That is for you to decide." Snaketail replied.

"Don't give me that!" Keaton retorted.

"I think you need to leave, Keaton, just remember that I can not always save you."


End file.
